Melvin n



(No Model.)

M. N. LOVELL.

GLOTHES WRINGBR.

Patented Fb. 14.1882.

- UNITED STATES I :PATENT OFFICE.

MELVIN N. LOVLL, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

'cLoTpH l-:s-wai Net-:a

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,537, dated February 14, 1882.

Application filed` November 22, 1880. (Nomodelo To all whom tt may concern Be it known that I, MELVIN N. LOVELL, a resident of Erie, county of Erie, and State of Pennsylvania, and a citizen of the United States,haveinvented new and useful Improve- ,ments in Clothes-Wringers; and I do hereby Fi g. 2 is an end elevation.

Fig. 3 is a transverse Vertical sec- 'tion on the line x w, Fi'g. 1.

1 The letters of reference indicateparts as folows:

A A VB is the frame-work; O O are the rollers. D D are the clotheslguides, andform a part of the frame-work. E E are'the clothes boards or aprons, upon which the clothes fall as they come from the rollers. F F are the clamps for attachin g the wringer to the tub. F' F' are the clamping-screws; f, the bracket- .irons, on which the swing-clamps F are pivoted and by lwhich they are attached to the posts of the wringcr. H H' are the tension-.springs G isv a movable cross-bar, which operates in connection with the Springs. I is the screw for adjusting the'tension of the springs. J J' are the journal-boxes of the rollers, and T represents the partition in the stationarytubs.

The construction of my machineis as .follows The clamps F F are pivoted on'the inside of the uprights A A of the frame-work, and may swing outwardly in .either direction, so that the machine may be clamped to the tub either side front; or when used on a stationarywashtub it may be clamped onl either side of the division-board T.

The clothes-board E is fastened to eastings E' E', which are pivoted to the standards A at e. When the machine is; not in use .and the clamps F are folded up the clothes-board lies in a Vertical position against the upright's, as

shown in Fig. 1 and also on the right of Fig. 2; but when theolamps are swungout, as shown on the left of Fig. 2, the clothes-board is raised so as to occupy a slanting position, as shown on the left of Fig. 2, in which position it serves ,tionary Wash-tabs.

.'In Fig. 2, T represents thedivisioni between two compartments of a stationary tub. The machine is there shown as in position for wringing the clothes that arein'the compartment at the right of T, and letting them fall into the compartment on vthe left. None ot' the dripwater will fall into the compartment on the left. It will all run directly down from the. rolls into the right-hand eompartment. The clothes ,will allfall upon the clothes-board, which is held up by the clamps. We will supposrl that the water in the right-hand compartment. is the 'suds and that in the left-hand compartmentis clear or rinsingwater. As soon as the clothes are all out of the suds that water is drawn off and the compartment is, we will suppose, tilled with bluing-water, and the operator desires then to wrin g the clothes from therinsing-water back into the right-hand compartment. To do this the wringer is unclamped and the clamps areswung so as to extend from the other side of the machine, and the machine is then clamped upon the other side of the board T. The board E, which in Fig. 2 is shown as Vertical, is brought into a sloping' position, and the one which is there shown as sloping drops to a vertical position. The work of wringing the clothes back into the right-hand compartment can then beproceeded with by turning the era-nk in an opposite direction.

The clothes-boards E E, when dropped down, form a continuation of the facing or guide IOO board D. The pivots on which they are hung are placed above the lower edge of the guideboard's. The object of this is that when the boards E are raised to ser ve as aprous their upper and inner edges' are taken away from the lower edge of the board D, and thus the drippings which run down the inside of the guide-boards cannot follow the under side of the aprons and drop into the compartment into which the clothes fall after being run through the rollers. 'lhe droppin g or pivoted clothesboard will be found advantageous ou any form of wringer, whether used oh one side or on both sides, as it gives an opportunity'tor having a wide apron when iu use; but when not in use, or when the machine is packed for shipping, it is out ot' the way and takes up no room.

There is nothing new. in the construction of the clamps F F l'urther than: the position at which they are attaehed to the uprights viz., on theinner faces, and so that they can be thrown out in either direct-ion, so as'to attach the machine on either side ofl the division T without turning the machine around, and also- So that when folded they will lie between the folded elothes-boards, and when extended for usethey serve as supports for the Clothes-board which comes into use.

The construction and arrangement of the Springs and intermediate bar, and the operation and objects of the same, are as follows:

A single Spring, having its ends bearing upon the movable journal-boxes of the upper roller or an interposed bar, and its middle bearing on the cross-bar of the frame or on an adjusting-screw,is common. Such a spring is substantially the same as the lower spring, H, or the upper spring and a bar somewhat similar to that shown by me.

Reference is made to the patents to Phelps, No. 197,893, 1877, and Browni'ng, No. 229,666, 1880; but neither of these contains nor in any Way anticipates my invention, which in detail is as follows: A wringer having .a single leafspring, to operate With Safety to the spring, will not have suflicient capacity between the rollers. plied as to produce the desired result.

I do not intend to claim as my invention the simple duplication of. the Springs, (which is shown by Browning,) for such is not what I do alone to obtain the desired result.

H H' are the semi-elliptical Springs. They are not of the same form, one, H, being shallower in its dish than the other, and heuce more pliable.

G is the intermediate bar before referred to. Its ends move in the slots inthe uprights. The upper spring, H', rests its ends upon the ends of the bar, and the lower spring, H, rests its apex upon the middle of the bar. per and lower sides of the bar are curved, but not alike. The. curves dift'er because the forms of the Springs dii'er. The object of this form I therefore employ two Springs so ap-:'

The upis to afford a bearing for the whole surface of the springs when they are strained to a certain degree of tension, and thereby arrest further tension of the spring, and thus avoid overstrain. Therefore the form of the bar G is a matter requiring special design, and is ascertained by knowing at whatpoint the Springs must be relieved of further tension.

When in op'eration the spring' H, being so formed as to be most pliable,willfirstcont'orm to the bar and be relieved, and afterward the spring H'. The greatest pressure is required when the cloth passing between the rollers is thickest, and it will be seenthat by my device this is accomplished without bringing this additional strain upon a sprin g which is already under strain near its capacity, but bya spring lately brought into use or action. However, I do not wish to be limited to theuseof Springs of varying elasticity,'for my bar G can be used equally well with 'Springs of equal .elasticity.' My bar G is intended to be so strong as to be non-elastic, or substantially so, for elasticity in that part would have no beneficial effect.

I am. aware that it is not new to provide a wringer with clamp-arms which are so pivoted as to Swing either to oneside or the other of the machine-as, for example, in the patent to Bogert, No. 134,633, January 7 1873-and I do not thereforebroadly claim such an arrangemeut of the elamps.

What I do claim is 1. Aclothes-wringer having an apron pivoted to swing below the guide-board, in combination with clamp-arms located and arranged as shown, whereby they can swing laterally. and automatically lift said apron and support it in an inelined position when the clamparms are in position for clamping, in the manner described.

2. Aelothes-wringer having a gravity clothesboard, in combination with a Clothes-guide located above the board, said board being pivoted above and to the rear of the lower edge of said guide, substantially as described, so that when the board has been raised into po-` sition for use its inner edge wi'll be above the lower edge of the guide, for the purposes mentioned.

3. In a clothes-wringer having two semi-elliptieal Springs, the combination therewith ot' an intermediate movable bar having its upper and lower faces formed to conform to said springs when they are compressed to a certain degree of tension, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of November, 1880.

ME LVlN N. LOVELL.

Witnesses:

J No. K. HALLooK, SELDEN MARVIN. 

